Officials say Trump may not try to block Comey's testimony

Though Kasowitz was spotted at the White House with Ivanka Trump late last month, he has yet to speak publicly about the issue, though the official says he has been empowered by the White House to answer questions on the matter.

But most of Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday is expected to touch on grave matters of national security and allegations of espionage and improper influence.

Comey is expected to be asked by the Senate panel about conversations in which the president is reported to have pressured him to drop a related FBI investigation into Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whose ties to Russian Federation are under scrutiny.

Unless a last-minute claim of executive privilege from the White House halts Thursday's hearing, Comey will have an opportunity - under oath - to affirm his version of events. He said the committee hearing was just set and "it has to be reviewed". The idea, Republicans said, is to choke off the Democratic congressional minorities from gaining new information that could be used to attack the president... Congress voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for failing to turn over the records.

Comey is likely to testify about the FBI's investigation into possible connections between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign and whether Trump tried to interfere with the probe.

Trump could argue that discussions with Comey pertained to national security and had an expectation of privacy.

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One, Holly Jones, told the BBC a white van veered off the road and struck as many as six people. "It was horrendous", he said. Officers rushed into the nearby Katzenjammers bar and ordered people to sit on the floor, patron Paul Connell told CNN .

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After ramming the auto into a barrier outside the Houses of Parliament, the driver got out and stabbed a police officer to death. He was later described as being in stable condition with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Legal experts say Trump could invoke a doctrine called executive privilege to try to stop Comey from testifying.

In his letter firing Comey, Trump said the former FBI director had informed him "on three separate occasions that I am not under investigation".

The White House has been buffeted by a series of negative headlines regarding the Russian Federation investigation and whether associates of President Donald Trump colluded with Russian Federation. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, said the president's "concerning" actions were now "beyond troubling". Critics have said that such pressure could potentially amount to obstruction of justice.

He has an incentive to push back against the White House portrayal of him as unfit for office.

A source with knowledge of Comey's thinking told CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger the former director was "disturbed" by his interactions with the President but "thought he had the situation under control". The White House has denied those characterizations.